[stylist] query

[Judith Bron]

OK, this is the last stop on my packet presentation for the publisher I'm interested in.  How does it sound to you?  It is exactly one page and captures the book, I think.  You be the judge.  Thanks, Judith

Judith Bron 72 North Cole Avenue  Spring Valley, NY  10977 

Phone: 845-426-3177 email: jbron at optonline.net

Query- The Letter Genre- Young adult Fiction Word Count- 99,779

A near death experience awakens sixteen year old Jennifer Rabinowitz to the voids in her life.  On her seventeenth birthday her foster mother, at the request of a mysterious messenger, gives her the one thing left by her parents, a book with an inserted paper written in a foreign language.  The book and paper become fixtures in Jennifer's backpack and sole connection to the only people who ever loved her.  Her almost deadly accident, near death experience, the strange packet left by her parents and the bigoted attitudes of her classmates start her on a journey to fill the gap that a lack of familiarity with her religion has left in her life.

The untimely death of her mother spurs a religious crisis for teenage Pessi, whose family has fallen on hard times.  Throughout the novel her personal turmoil, conflict with inferiority and seeing her value as a worthwhile person are identity crises most teenagers can identify with.  

   Chavy, an attractive, but a bit overweight teen, is a strong character with the ability to help her fellow students.  She maintains strength through crises.  She has that unique ability to bring humor to the most serious situation.  Chavy plays a pivotal role in the lives of these two characters.  

Set mainly in the fictional Jewish community of Jenna, New York this story follows the growing friendship between the three girls while Jennifer explores the unfamiliar territory of Observant Judaism.  A dark secret from her family's past pursues Jennifer. 

The Letter contains danger, fear and teenage self doubt.  It describes the struggles, conflicts and eventual reconciliation of teenage girls with an understanding of who they are in a world filled with pain, danger and truth.  

About the Author:  I'm a Cum Laude graduate from SUNY Buffalo with a BS in Social Work.  I have been published in 15 publications both on and off line.  My select PR projects have netted excellent results.

Growing up in Buffalo, New York, I often wondered why books about Jewish teens weren't available in book stores or public libraries.  The reason didn't become obvious until after I married and assumed the Jewish lifestyle depicted in The Letter.  

Books about Jewish teens have always been written for a niche audience and never for the mainstream young adult community.  With no reference to a community totally foreign to them many teens grow up to harbor misunderstandings and even hatred for Jewish people.  The Letter bridges the two worlds.  

The Letter describes the lifestyle of observant Jews and the life of a teenage character living in the mainstream world. It is sensitive to the fact that the mainstream audience would find the observant Jewish lifestyle incomprehensible unless it was described relative to mainstream customs.  

To fulfill requirements for my social work degree I chose to do part of my internship working with teens.  I helped them work out problems with identity, peer pressure, quandaries about trust, inter-personal relationships and problems communicating with parents and other authority figures.  One age group, two cultures, similar conflicts.